


Stimulus

by thewronglong



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M, Massage, Past Drug Use, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Pre-Slash, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 17:03:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19855831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewronglong/pseuds/thewronglong
Summary: Rimmer is having trouble dealing with the over stimulation of his new hard light body.





	1. Chapter 1

"Smeg, man, what are you doing down there, calisthenics?" Every time Lister would doze off Rimmer would thrash, or groan, or some other nonsense to wake him up. What was worse, now that he was hard light, Lister could feel it all. He knew the guy wasn't getting off, Lister knee what that sounded like. He even knew that if he counted to one hundred after Rimmer was finished he could take his turn because the hologram would be fast asleep. This was different.

"It's… I can't sleep like this!"

"Like wot? Rolling around like you've set your keks on fire and are tryin to put them out?"

"This body… it…" Rimmer groaned, "it feels everything."

"Isn't that the point? 'snot like you haven't had a body before."

"I don't remember it being so… sensitive."

Lister wondered just how sensitive it was, would he only have to count to thirty now? His cock liked the sound of that. He slid over to the side of the bunk and leaned over, dreads dangling down. In the dim light he could make out the outline of the man who lay below him. Was he not wearing a shirt? That was new. Lister drug his eyes downward stopping at a trim stomach, he didn't dare look lower, afraid of what he'd noticed in a quick glance just a second before. Something straining against a sheet. 

Rimmer didn't think Lister had seen his erection, and life's his knee just in case, in a casual nothing-going-on-here kind of way. 

"Can't you just… go back soft?" Lister tried not to think about his poor choice of words.

Rimmer put an arm over his face, "I don't want to." He peeled out to see the puzzled look on Lister's face, "I'm afraid, alright, that I'll do it and…"

"You won't be able to change back?"

Rimmer nodded from under his arm. 

"Whassit feel like?"

"Like having a body."

"No, I mean… well, me and me mates used to take something when we'd go out, drugs, you know and..."

"I know what MDMA is, Listy, and I don't feel like dancing to shitty techno music with a dummy in my mouth, thank you very much."

"What I'm saying is it would make you," he wanted to say 'hard enough to cut glass', but settled for, "feel, you know, your body and all that. I remember trying to go to bed after taking some once and I was rolling around like you've been. I spent an hour just feeling the wonders of a crushed velvet duvet. 

"This doesn't feel… wonderful." Rimmer lied. Just the feel of his clothes on his skin had been too much. He wondered how he'd made it through the night before in Legion's domain. Oh yeah, wanking, lots of wanking. "It's just… too much, sensory overload."

"Maybe if you're concentrating on one area it wouldn't be that bad."

'I would if you'd go the smeg it to sleep already," thought Rimmer. "Hhmmph" was all he could muster. 

"Scooch over,"

Before Rimmer could must a 'What!? NO!', Lister was swinging down beside him into the thin bunk. He scrambled back, and was now balanced half on the mattress half on the white plastic ledge of the inside of the bunk, back left shoulder pressed against the wall. He kept his right knee up, but if he stayed like this for very long the pain of the ledge digging into his back would take care of that problem. "What… what in the smeg do you think you're doing? This is completely unprecedented."

"Come off it, you want to go to sleep don't you?"

"I doubt laying here with a board I my spine will accomplish that." 

"Just a sec, sit up." Lister repositioned himself where he was now leaning against the head of the bunk instead in a half slouch with Rimmer's pillow for support. "You can lay back down."

"You took my pillow."

Put your head in my lap." Rimmer looked like he was either going to bolt to the door or clutch a string of non-existent pearls around his neck.

"C'mon, 's not like that, my mate used to do this for me if I started rolling too hard and needed to relax." He didn't mention that the mate's name had been Sarah and they'd usually end up in more intimate positions. 

Reluctantly Rimmer lay back down, his head resting on Lister's crossed legs. 'Had people always been this warm?' He tried not to think of how close he was to… certain appendages. He closed his eyes more out of nervousness than relaxation.

"Comfortable?" Came the voice from above him. 

"If I was comfortable do you think that I would be… like this."

Lister laughed a little, "Just try to relax."

Rimmer went to sit up but a surprisingly soft hand pushed his head back down. 

"You know you can trust me, right. I'm not trying to, I don't know, take the piss."

Rimmer made a non-committal noise but settled back down. Lister's first instinct was to bury his hands in fluffy curls. He wanted to see if they felt as real as they looked, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about the reaction he'd get. Instead he opted for something less… intimate. He took his first two fingers on each hand and placed them on Rimmer's temples, rubbing in slow but firm circles. He knew that Rimmer wasn't rolling so it probably wouldn't be the same as when he was on the receiving end of such treatment, but the scrunching around his brows was softening, so it was doing something.

Rimmer had never had his head massaged before, in fact, he'd never had anything massaged before. The one time he'd gone into a massage parlor he chickened out before he even made it past the waiting room. He didn't realize how tense one could be in their temples, or their jaw, Lister's slow circles were moving back toward his hairline. 

Rimmer's hair felt so real! Lister's wrists had brushed it more than once. He wondered at how he could feel muscles moving under the skin. If it wasn't for the letter He shining in the dimly lit room he would thing he was touching a living man. He decided to be adventurous and pressing firmly he ran his fingers from Rimmer's temples back over his ears dipping them back to his neck. He pulled his hands back when he felt something unexpected.

"What?" Rimmer asked, missing the contact.

"You… have a pulse."

Boy did he, he didn't notice it before, but his heart was liking the attention. Was it a heart? A simulated pulse to go with a simulated heart? "I suppose I do," he said with careful control. "And?"

"Nothing." Lister wondered now if he reached down under the sheet and pressed his hand against that broad smooth chest would he feel a heartbeat. Would he hear one if he pressed his ear there instead? Those sort of thoughts wouldn't do, not with Rimmer's head in his lap, dangerously close to his biggest emotional tattle tale. He put his hands back on Rimmer's head, rubbing more gently at his temples this time. He placed his thumbs on the newly re furrowed brow, where his eye sockets met his nose and pressed, bringing them out in long slow strokes. He almost stopped when he heard a soft groan released from the back of Rimmer's throat. Lister liked that, he wondered if he could make him do that again.


	2. Chapter 2

Lister repeated his actions, massaging Rimmer's face while watching and taking in every little twitch and response of the prone man whose head was in his lap. He couldn't believe that he was touching Rimmer. Actually touching him… alone… in bed! He never in three million years thought this could be. If he'd known then maybe he wouldn't have been nursing the crush he had on him on and off for the last few years. It's easy to imagine things when you think there's no possible way for them to actually happen. 

Rimmer was thoroughly enjoying himself, more so than he'd like to admit. He never knew face massages were a thing, but oh, they felt good. He didn't know that the scouser had it in him, his touch was so gentle, yet firm enough to really feel it. He wondered if it felt so good because his nerve sensors were somehow miscalibrated, or perhaps it had been so long that he'd actually been touched that made it feel so divine. Who was he kidding, he'd never been touched like this. Even with Nirvana their caresses had been for a set purpose, sex. He'd never had someone touch him for the sake of touching him before. It was a marvelous feeling. Marvelous and scary, especially terrifying that it was Lister who was making him feel so… no, that was stupid. Stop thinking you smegging git and just enjoy it while it lasts. 

Lister was lost in watching Rimmer closed eyed response to having figure eights drawn around his eyes when he noticed movement. Rimmer had adjusted his position. He had raised one knee. Nah, it couldn't be, thought Lister, and even if it was it was just a response from over stimulation, but still. He smiled to himself. He traced his fingers upward, consciously avoiding the H in the middle of Rimmer's forehead, and let his fingers trail back into bushy curls. He kept the pressure going, keeping up the pretense of massage. Lister's felt his fingers tingle slightly when they were buried in Rimmer's hair. It felt like a static charge, so strange, yet so normal, it felt like hair. 

On his next pass Lister let his nails scratch slowly over Rimmer's scalp. His heart leapt up into his throat when he saw lips part at this as a small gasp escaped the hologram. Such pretty lips, thought Lister. He wondered if they were warm, yes they would be, Rimmer was definitely warm. A small flash of pink appeared as Rimmer licked his lips. Would that tongue be wet? It looked wet. How would it taste? Metallic? Sweet? Like nothing at all? Stop it, Listy, or... Smeg! Rimmer's eyes were open, did he notice him watching his mouth? His eyes… they've always been so...

Dark, Rimmer thought, like two chocolate coins staring down into his soul. He should look away, he… was being kissed.

Rimmer's lower lip was soft and pliable between Lister's, and as soon as it parted from the other it was being sucked in and tongued tenderly in an upside down kiss. Lister's fingers gripped at the hair on the back of Rimmer's head, pushing him slightly upward, cradling it as he leaned almost doubled over to get to the sweet piece of tender flesh. When teeth scraped gently a whine escaped from the back of Rimmer's throat. 

The sound was like flipping a switch. Rimmer's eyes went wide in terror. He sat up, pulling away, almost knocking their heads together in the process. He scrambled to the other side of the bunk, clutching the sheets like a shield. 

They spoke at once.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"Sorry! 'm sorry, Rimmer! Please...I'm a complete… I should have asked." Lister's hands covered his face. His face was so hot he was surprised he didn't burn them. 

"You think? So what now that I've got a body you think you can just-"

"No! No… not at all, I would never assume that you would, unless you wanted to. Look, I apologized. I don't expect you to accept it, but what can I say? I like you, and, you know.." He kept his face covered, as he leaned back against the head of the bunk.

"Like me? How old are you, twelve? Why didn't you just pass me a note in English class and ask for a snog behind the bleachers during recess?"

Great, Lister thought, absolutely mortified, he's going to never let me hear the end of this. At least it wasn't a fist to the face. And he was talking to him, not to mention he hadn't even left the cramped space they called his bunk. Lister lowered his hands, and looked at the man who sat just a few feet away.

It was all Rimmer could do to hold himself together. He fought the urge to bite at his lower lip, to taste the spittle that still clung to it. He wanted to be angry, in fact he wanted to be down right indignant, but he just couldn't remember what for. Oh yeah. Then Lister said something that scared him more than any kiss ever would. He liked him? Nobody likes Arnold Rimmer, not even Arnold Rimmer, let's face it, especially not Arnold Rimmer. So he said something snarky. But he had to admit, looking at Lister sitting there across from him, hiding behind his hands, peeking through at him, looked absolutely adorable, but it was nothing compared to the look he had when he lowered his hands, or what he said.

"If I had asked. Would you have said yes."

No, thought Rimmer, but not for the reasons you think. He couldn't handle it, not being used, not for that, not by him. "I'm not here for your sexual amusement, Listy. I may have been brought back for your sanity, but I'm still a person."

"I'm not asking about sex, I'm asking for a kiss." Ooo, Lister winced, he'd worded that all kinds of wrong. No, he was sticking with it. He wanted to kiss Rimmer again, and properly this time. "Look, if you say no I won't ever bring it up again, we can pretend all this never happened."

"And… if I said yes?"

"Well, who knows? That's up to you, innit? But I promise not to push you into anything beyond that." He cocked his head to the side and smiled a little, putting on his most charming face, "unless…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, this is turning into a three parter I guess. Juicy bits coming up next.
> 
> I have no beta, so like all of my other fics I guess I'll just die on a hill of bad editing. My biggest problem is my American ass trying to write Brit sounding dialogue...


	3. Chapter 3

"Unless what?" Rimmer licked his lips. He was suddenly very nervous, he felt like his stomach was doing flips and his leg was starting to do that annoying shaky thing that he never seemed to be able to control.

Lister smiled sweetly and scooted a little closer to the man on the other end of the bed. "It's only me, Arn, I'm not going to hurt you." he reached his hand out deliberately slow enough for Rimmer to pull away if he wanted and rested it on the shaking knee. "I'm sorry I got carried away before. I've..." He looked away, afraid to make eye contact with Rimmer when be said this, "wished for a long time that I could touch you, and now… I totally smegged it up, didn't I?"

Rimmer was floored by the vulnerability on display before him. Was Lister going to cry? "Yes!" He heard himself blurt out. Lister's eyes squeezed shut. "I mean no!" Rimmer backtracked. "I mean no you didn't totally smeg it up. Yes, you can… kiss me, that is."

He was expecting to be lunged at, grabbed and groped. What he got instead was a goofy grin that was completely endearing. 

Lister moved closer, slowly as if he was afraid that if he made any sudden movements Rimmer would run off like a scared deer, and perhaps he was right. He used the hand that was already on Rimmer's knee to push the leg out of the way and slide himself in between two deliciously long limbs. He sat on his knees, merely inches away from lips he wholeheartedly wanted to devour. He leaned in, but stopped short, waiting for Rimmer to bridge the gap. When he was just about to give in and do it himself Rimmer responded, bringing his lips the rest of the way and connecting in a press that almost but not quite pinched Lister's lips to his teeth. 

Lister pulled back, easing the contact into something gentler, taking control with a hand on Rimmer's cheeks. He could feel a slight layer of stubble scratch at his hands and upper lip. When Rimmer showed no sign of stopping the kiss Lister's tongue ventured out, tasting for holographic saliva. Rimmer's lips parted at the invasion and their kiss became a battle of tongues to see whose could make its way into the others mouth. Lister broke free, panting.

"Was it… okay?" Rimmer asked, full of nerves and out of breath even though he technically didn't have to breathe.

"More…" More than okay, was what Lister was going to say, but he barely got the syllable out before his mouth was covered once again. Rimmer was kissing him like there was no tomorrow, pressing him back, down, covering him with his body. He could feel Rimmer's erection pressed against his thigh. He broke the kiss with a groan of "Arn." 

Saying his name seemed to key the hologram up even more and Lister couldn't help but lift his thigh a little as Rimmer rutted against it. As much as he was enjoying this it wasn't at all like he'd pictured it. He wanted more than just to pop off in his shorts with that long beautiful body pressed against his cock. He wanted to touch that body, explore it, taste it. He was afraid if he didn't take back control now that Rimmer would take his release then pull away in horror at what he had just done. 

"Arn, wait…" more sloppy kisses and roaming hands, "Arn… mmmm… listen," it wasn't working. "Rimmer!" He pushed up, not angry, but forcefully enough to get his point across. Rimmer sat up, looking confused and a little frightened, but also deliciously sweet with kiss reddened lips and disheveled hair. 

Rimmer was scared for a moment he'd done something wrong. He had been overwhelmed by the sheer weight of emotional and physical stimulation, he had lost control. He was about to begin his own line of stammered apologies when Lister smiled in a way that made him feel like there could be nothing wrong in the universe, ever again. 

"Slow down," Lister was saying, "I haven't been wishing for years that I could touch you just to-"

"Years?" Rimmer interrupted.

Lister nodded, his hand hadn't left Rimmer's bare chest, even though they were both sitting up now. He pushed gently, laying Rimmer back and down, sitting astride his thighs. Rimmer bucked his hips involuntary when he felt Lister's thick hardness brush up against his own, but Lister just tutted and wagged a finger at him. "None of that m'laddo," he said, turning one of the hologram's favorite words around on him. 

Lister, trying not to think about the press of their crotches between them began to caress the firm smooth chest on display before him. "So gorgeous…" he mumbled to himself.

"You really think so?" Rimmer asked as if he didn't believe him.

"You have no idea." Lister couldn't help but kiss the smile he got in response. He made it intentionally slow, licking into Rimmer's mouth, memorizing every taste and texture. One hand was buried in curls while the other brushed caresses up and down Rimmer's trembling torso. He pulled away from the kiss and began to kiss and nibble at Rimmer's neck. He could feel the slickness of sweat as he ran his tongue down the curve of his jaw, but the sensation didn't linger when he removed his lips. He worked his way down nibbling, and licking, stopping at the point where shoulder met neck, sucking on soft flesh. 

Rimmer let out a moan that sounded almost pained and wrapped his arms around Lister pulling him closer. It was if he couldn't get close enough to the man, he wanted to melt into him, combining into an exquisite mound of flesh. He flashed back to the time Lister had walked through him. He had been inside him in a way, if only for just a second. He wondered if he could return the favor. He hugged Lister as tight as he dared, only letting go when he felt resistance.

Lister sat up, ripping his shirt over his head. It was Rimmer's hands turn to roam now. He mapped out soft flesh with long fingers, only stopping to grab at Lister's plump little ass and give it a squeeze, pulling him forward. He gasped when he felt the heavy heat of Lister's cock come in contact with his own through only the fabric of their shorts. 

Lister's own breath hitched when he heard Rimmer's response to the contact. He wiggles a little, letting their cocks brush together again. Rimmer's hands kneaded his ass, squeezing, wanting. He slipped his fingers into the waistband of starched blue shorts and when he got a small nod from the panting man below him he began to drag them downwards. Rimmer's cock bounced free of the waistband, standing straight up at attention. Lister placed a soft kiss on the tip when he neared it while removing Rimmer's shorts. 

Lister made his way back up Rimmer's body, rubbing at his long legs and massaging muscular thighs. When he made it back to Rimmer's straining cock, he didn't take it immediately into his mouth, instead he began to nuzzle it, pressing his face to it, reveling in the heat if it on his cheek. 

Rimmer watched, his breath coming in shallow hitches when he remembered to do it. Lister looked beautiful like this as he worshipped his cock, those delicious chocolate eyes looking into his soul as he began to press soft kisses up the underside of his shaft. It was like a dream, it had to be a dream, there was no way… Rimmer lost all train of thought when Lister lapped a long line up the bottom of his cock finishing by taking Rimmer's head in his hot mouth and sucking gently. 

Lister smiled around Rimmer's member when he heard the man let out a sound that was a mix between a gasp and a whine. He set out to see what other wonderful about he could draw out. He took more into his mouth, staying still and just reveling in the way Rimmer's cock felt pressed against his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He moaned at the sensation.

The vibration from Lister's mouth wrapped around him made Rimmer almost come undone then and there. He bucked his hips involuntary and if Lister hadn't been anticipating such a move he would have choked.

"Easy," Lister said, his fist replacing his mouth.

"Sorry." Rimmer said sheepishly.

"I don't really mind, babe, just don't want to choke to death our first time."

First time! Babe!? Rimmer thought before his mind was swept clean again by the squeeze of a hand and a mouth wrapped around him.

Lister ignored the aching throb of his cock as he worked at the task before him. He couldn't help but speed up when he felt Rimmer begin to tug at his locks and spit out a line of nonsense that included his name, curses, and pleas to God. It crossed his mind to stop before Rimmer came, but he was too late. Rimmer, without any warning, shuddered out a staccato "Listy" and with an indecipherable shout was spilling down Lister's throat. 

Lister took it like a champ, he'd have to have a talk with Rimmer later about fair warning, but for now he did his best to swallow. But… he could feel Rimmer's cock pumping into his mouth, but there was no choking fluid, feeling of spurting, yes, but whatever it was dissipated quickly, leaving a sensation not unlike licking a battery. He came up sputtering, his eyes watering. 

Lister palmed himself through his shorts as he watched Rimmer bask in his afterglow. In a way he wished it hadn't come to an end so quickly, but, smeg, what an end. He vowed to make Rimmer look like this as much as he could for as long as he could.

After a moment Rimmer opened his eyes and looked him over, "I know, that was… fast."

"No… I understand,"

"There's something you should know, Listy."

"What's that?"

"We've only just begun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should know better than try to limit my chapters.


End file.
